Posts by tag: TL

The Suzuki TL-1000R was a bold but flawed stab at stealing big v-twin superbike dominance away from Ducati. The bike was a bit of a misfit, impressing neither road testers nor road racers, as it was overweight and fitted with a mystifying and dangerous radial damper rear suspension. Aside from a few privateers racing at the club level, the bike never achieved much on the track, and its street sales hurt as a result.

Superbike Universe aimed to solve that problem, taking on a used TL-1000R as a project and producing the bike you see here. It has been relieved of its butt-puckering rear suspension and given a traditional Penske clicker shock. The front end, heavy as stock, has been tossed in favor of a set of upside down forks off a 2009 Gixxer, which have been treated to custom internals. The brakes also got more than a once over, with stainless steel lines, Brembo Monoblocs and a radial master cylinder taking over duties.

From the seller:

Here is another result from the long brutal winters here in the Northeast. I started out with a stock TL1000R and set about stripping everything I could off of it to lighten it up. The super heavy front end was replaced with a 2009 GSXR1000 front fork with 25mil K-Tech internals. The brake set up is truly one finger amazing. I used a Accossatto Radial master cylinder, custom Core stainless lines and a set of Brembo Monoblack calipers from a 2014 GSXR1000. Those massive Brembo's clamp down on a set of 330mm PVM superbike rotors. Out back I ditched that crazy Suzuki rear suspension box/spring thing that didn't work and weighed about 30lbs. I replaced it entirely with a custom Penske triple clicker and a one-off billet Linderman linkage. Not only did I loose a ton of weight up high but the rear end works perfect now!. The bike rolls on a rare set of 5 spoke MARVIC magnesium wheels that allow for amazingly quick turn in. A very rare 2 in to 1 Yoshimura exhaust helps get rid of burn fuels and again a shit load of weight. All brackets for the rear sub frame and passenger accommodations were cut off and trimmed accordingly. A fiberglass single seat Sharkskin tail and a custom under tray tidy up the rear of the bike. In all I lost over 108lbs off the original bike. They say that the TL100OR weighed just 424lbs in the original bike specs but that is complete bullshit. It weighed 493lbs fully wet when I started this project. Now with it weighs a super light 384lbs fully wet and with three gallons of fuel. If you push this around you feel the super light weight. I had an awesome Lance Johnson Paint Worx Yoshimura paint scheme applied to the stock /aftermarket bodywork. It looks fantastic and rides great! Certainly one of a kind and is exactly the bike Suzuki could have ended up with if they continued development. Put this Superbike Universe special in your collection now for a fraction of the cost of development.

The real eye opener is the claimed weight loss: more than 100 pounds off the stock bike, via a combination of suspension, wheels, brakes and body work. The whole package, complete with a ton of one-off and rare parts, will set you back $7,500. If you have an affinity for odd ducks or under dogs, or just like the idea of a howling Japanese v-twin, this thing is your mount.

Back in the late 1990's the motorcycling world was gobsmacked by the Ducati 916 - not only was it shockingly beautiful, it restored the v-twin as THE desired powerplant for the motorcycling cognescenti. Given the impact of the Ducati 916 it wasn't a surprise that the competition tried to build their own v-twins with the results including the Aprilia Falco, Honda Firestorm and Suzuki TL series (S/Street and R/Race model). While these bikes were each interesting in their own way (especially the Falco) none dethroned the Ducati. The reasons for this were varied; the Aprilia was poorly marketed and simply bland looking in comparison while the Honda suffered from a very small fuel tank and poor (for Honda anyway) build quality. As for the TL series, the issue was handling.

When the Suzuki TL series was introduced with the TL-S/Street version the 90 degree v-twin won raves for producing 125hp. However the v-twin design meant that there was less room for the rear suspension so Suzuki fit a car-like rotary suspension system which involved a separate spring and rotary damper. While this suspension is fine under most situations for the street, when the suspension came under heavy load it got hot and the suspension could struggle to respond quickly enough. The result was front wheel lift which could then result in tank slap. The press jumped on the issue, declaring the bike as a "widow maker".

Even as Suzuki worked to resolve the TL-S/Street versions handling issues the company launched the TL- R/Race version. Like its year younger sibling, the TL-R had a great engine (tweaked to produce 135hp) that was now mounted in a GSX-R series derived beam frame and clad with full bodywork. The TL-R came with a factory installed steering damper but despite the changes, still maintained its reputation for dangerous handling. Sales were below target and after 6 years Suzuki decided to pull the plug on its V-Twin series efforts and refocus its attention on the GSX/inline four series.

This particular TL1000R is in the traditional late 1990's blue and white Suzuki colors. Personally I think it was a mistake for Suzuki to clad the TL-R in something that was so similar to the GSX-R series but the bodywork on this one does look to be pretty good. The taillights, turnsignals, windscreen and frame sliders/crash bungs are aftermarket but could be restored pretty cheaply. The seller does indicate some scuffs and a broken bit of fairing but also indicates that the sale includes some extra bits

Here is what the seller has to say

Mileage 11,338

Has a full Yoshimura exhaust system, Power commander + tune

Included in the sale is a spare belly pan, tail fairing, and upper fairing and clear windscreen

Chain and sprockets are in good condition, oil is fresh.

Bike is lowered slightly but OEM shock with OEM ride height links that will go with the bike

So what is this V-Twin beastie worth? Obviously its not a pristine bike and will require some attention if the intent is to acquire it for a collection. However the price right now is stupid low at $2600 USD (which is barely above KBB trade in value) and these still have a reputation for being very good both as a daily commuter and on the track. Personally I think this one is a screaming deal right now.

How do you remember the TL1000S ? Was it a worthy Ducati alternative with innovative ideas and a very nice 90 degree V twin or the widow maker from Hammatsu? It is definitely a bike with a sorted past but how much is real and how much is legend? I remember stories of violent and unexpected head shake that would scare even those with the highest of testosterone levels. I've read of issues with the rotary damper rear suspension. There apparently were general quality control issues with the initial model year bikes as well. That is the Dr. Jekyll

The Mr. Hyde? Well, for the most part people absolutely love the darn things. Most say though, ditch the rotary damper rear suspension as soon as possible. For a bike released in 97 it had some nice features. The frame is a light weight trellis design and the engine featured fuel injection and a back torque limiting clutch. From the reading I did the bike could be summed up in a word: "Fun"!.

If the Dr. Jekyll still has you worried, this bike did go through the Suzuki recall program. I believe the recall was for the steering damper but I also saw one for the fuel tank as well.

If you've waited, this is the one you want. Almost 100% original and only 2,300 miles. The only changes are a tasteful exhaust system and a fuel injection update.

The details:

Up for auction is an extremely clean example of a 1997 Suzuki TL1000S in the rare green color. This bike is as close to new as you are likely to find anywhere, only 2300 miles on it. The photo shows 2200 something but I've been riding it, this bike runs awesome and is a blast to ride. The sound is absolutely addicting! I don't think it's possible to ride this bike and not be smiling, it's that much fun! The bike is all original except for the stainless steel/carbon fiber exhaust. I do have the original pipes, mufflers, brackets and rear seat pad. All are included to the winning bidder as well as a Yoshimura fuel injection adjuster, factory service repair manual, and an owners manual. The bike has a brand new Yuasa battery this season. There are NO scratches dings or dents, again very clean, very original. No disappointments if you are looking for a sweet TL1000S. I do reserve the right to end the auction early as the bike is for sale locally. Thanks for looking and good luck! Please email me with any question that you may have.

The bike did have all the original recalls done as proven by the "Suzuki OK" sticker on the right side of the frame. Yes this bike does have the factory steering damper installed.

As I've said before, it impresses me when an "average" bike has been taken care of this well.

I think the styling has held up well. It would look just fine in a showroom in 2011. You may know Suzuki sold these engines to Bimota for the SB8K but did you know they also sold them to Cagiva for the V-Raptor and Navigator? Don't feel bad if you've never heard of those two. They never made it to the United States. Knowing Cagiva, they probably barely made it out of the factory.

A quick spin of the internets revealed there aren't a whole lot of TL1000S's for sale. It turns out to be a bit more rare than I thought. I didn't come across a single one that was as nice as this example. If you aren't spooked then check it out here.

This is only the second TL1000R we've featured--not counting Bimota's--and it seems to be another good find! The seller states that they purchased this bike in June of 1998 and it has less than 1,500 miles because of college and moving. They don't mention much other than that the bike is free of modifications which the pictures seem to agree with.

Having TL experience I can say these are quite nice bikes on the road. On the track they may not keep up with the RC's and Duc's but, on the street they are more than adequate. The bike pulls strong from idle and all the way up to just before red-line. They are very nice in the city because of the torque and the radiator positioning doesn't cook you in the summer. The opening bid for this bike is $3,700 with no reserve, I think you'll find that is right about where TL1000R's with 10-20k miles are on Craigslist, making this bike a bargain if it doesn't go up too much! If you're a Suzuki collector, why not pick up a low mile, first year, TLR for the collection? See the other TLR we featured here. See this bike on eBay here.

AG

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